Denton Wesleyan Mission impacts church group

Friday

Feb 1, 2013 at 12:05 PM

Two men in a group from Denton Wesleyan Church who provided relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy found the experience rewarding in various ways.

BY DWIGHT DAVISThe Dispatch

Lives of the victims and those who helped them are forever impacted by Hurricane Sandy.Two men in a group from Denton Wesleyan Church who provided relief efforts, and were on their first such relief mission, found the experience rewarding in various ways.Tim Bean, for example, manager of Wilson Carter Building Supplies in Denton, didn't anticipate the results of his experience after the Denton Wesleyan team joined six men and six women from Southern Wesleyan University to renovate victims' homes.Bean offered his expertise in repairing walls and hanging Sheetrock. "It was rewarding, very worthwhile," he reports. "I was helping the college kids who didn't have the experience to do the work by themselves. Just seeing those kids working hard and being willing to help was the most rewarding part for me. You hear a lot of bad things about them these days, but it was good to see them doing something positive."The group worked in the Coney Island area."The people there were very thankful for (skilled) volunteers coming up because they have so many people taking advantage of them and not doing things the right way," Bean added.A total of five men from Denton Wesleyan made the trip Jan. 7-12, including the church's pastor, Charlie Collins, who is a veteran of relief efforts and organizing the local crew.Collins explained that stormwaters flood the sewers, and the sewers flood the homes.That's one method of damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy when her surge hit New York's coast Oct. 29.Her wrath was indiscriminate, too. She struck rich and poor alike.Two-and-a-half months later, much of the damage lingers. Those who were fortunate enough to have their dwellings left intact from the winds didn't escape the damage from the water.John Borgman, owner and operator of Country Carpets, was the skilled hand at flooring.In one home, Borgman says, he had to tear out all of the hardwood flooring."It was a beautiful home," Borgman relates. "I think the lady who lived there had worked for JP Morgan all of her life. She had put some money in her home."It was a very worthwhile experience. I just found it to be a place I could be helpful by using my skills."Collins was the chain saw man and offered help with demolition. "I'm skilled at demolition, so that's what I did," he says with a laugh.Despite the homes being flooded by sewer water, Collins said the stench was bearable in homes where the water was allowed to continue moving. The smell builds when it doesn't have anywhere to go.While witnessing the relief work is a moving experience, the innovations of Poured Out Ministries is yet something else to behold.Collins describes an oversized dryer the ministry has designed that sucks moisture out of wood, floorings and the air in structures that have been ravaged by water. The water drains into a catch-pan. "Within four of five hours you'll have two to two-and-a-half gallons of water."The Denton Wesleyan pastor always comes away with special memories on his various mission trips. On this one he relates the story of Haitian native Gabriel (they seldom learned last names of the victims) and her recollection of seeing the eye of the storm while in her home."She said she looked to the right and then to the left and said the skies were clear, but it was lightning. And in the center water was coming out of something of a black storm wall and that had to look like the children of Israel watching the Red Sea close down on Pharaoh's army. She still gets teary-eyed talking about it."Collins was also part of a relief mission trip shortly after Hurricane Sandy hit.Working through HOPE NYC and Poured Out Ministries, Collins noted that the local group was able to help at four sites, plus deliver relief packages to a community.Reflecting on the recent trip, Collins concluded: "… the fingerprints of God, not always seen in the moment, but so evident in the reflection, can be found on the hearts and lives of those he ordained for this time together. Those moments spent praying and crying with homeowners. Encouraging, and being encouraged by other workers and neighbors. Time spent helping a gentleman carry his relief food back to his home. Time sharing with group members you are getting to know, and others you are getting to know better. And the results, though they look small in comparison to the greater need, are priceless in their value to the kingdom."Dwight Davis can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 226 or at dwight.davis@the-dispatch.com.